Xin Xiaolu's allergy was not particularly serious and she recovered completely in a few days. However, Xin Yanlai was still frightened and never dared to take her to eat seafood barbecue again. Although grandpa did not say much, he also reduced the number of times he bought seafood.
When she was not feeling well, Xin Yanlai did not let her continue to do her homework, but took her out to play and find something interesting to do, so that she would not sit there and think about the itchiness on her body. Xin Yanlai felt sorry for her when he saw this.
They went to the beach and went down the fence behind my grandfather's house. There was a path that led directly to a small beach below. When the temperature was a little lower in the evening, they wandered around the beach. Xin Yanlai brought a small bucket and a small shovel, which looked like some kind of children's toy.
Xin Xiaolu: "... Do you want to take this?" To be honest, she didn't really need this kind of children's toy.
Xin Yanlai: "Grandpa heard us say we were going to the beach, so he found this and put it there." It was so obvious that he couldn't pretend he didn't see it. These were all things he played with when he was a child. Although he was an adult, in his grandfather's eyes, he was probably still a child.
Xin Xiaolu, who claimed that adults didn't need children's toys, was digging sand on the beach with a small bucket an hour later. The bucket was filled with various shells she had found. Xin Yanlai couldn't even get close to the bucket.
Seeing her sitting on the beach and digging in the sand, the little brother was filled with joy. He heard that she had a hard childhood, so it was a good thing to let her have fun now.
There was no sun that day and the sky was gloomy and looked like it was going to rain. They were at the beach and the sand that had been scorched by the sun in the past had lost its temperature. The sea breeze was rustling and the waves were crashing, bringing a rare coolness.
Such a stormy evening in the summer also has a different kind of fun. As the tide washes ashore, there are occasionally some interesting things, such as starfish and small fish. Xin Xiaolu picks up the colorful little fish and puts them in a bucket.
"Take them back and find something to feed them." Xin Yanlai also picked up two good-looking ones and put them in a small bucket. A few small fish struggling on the shore entered the bucket and immediately swung their beautiful tails vigorously and turned around in the bucket.
As they moved forward, two sets of footprints were left on the wet sand, which were quickly washed away by the tide.
The rain was about to fall. Grandpa waved to them from the house on the hillside. He was on the second-floor balcony, probably to close the window for them. The two of them walked back with small buckets, but the rain was heavier than they were. Halfway through the walk, the heavy rain came crashing down on their heads. Xin Yanlai subconsciously pulled Xin Xiaolu and ran quickly.
The small bucket shook so violently that the small fish in the water fell out.
Xin Yanlai stopped picking up the fish, took the small bucket and held it in his arms, "Xiaolu, hurry up, the rain is getting heavier."
The rain was so heavy that the two of them were soaked when they got home. Xin Xiaolu took care of herself and went downstairs. She saw the beautiful little fish she had picked up, which had been placed in a small glass tank by Xin Yanlai. There were even a few small shells and a handful of seaweed in the glass tank.
Different from their previous aimless and chaotic state, the few small fish quickly got used to this new place and swam slowly and comfortably in the water.
Every day she would go to the beach to fetch water and change the water for the fishes. She was so serious about them that even Xin Yanlai was surprised. He remembered that he had seen her feeding wild cats before and thought she was too lonely. But he also thought that he would soon go to another city to attend college. When he was far away, Xiaolu would be even more lonely.
Xin Yanlai was worried no matter how hard he thought about it. He found time to go back once. He originally said he would be back in one day, but later he was delayed for some reason and only came back three days later. After he came back, he talked to Xin Xiaolu.
"I'm going to college in H City. It's far from home, and I can't go home often." Xin Yanlai looked solemn, as if he was deciding something important in his life. He asked Xin Xiaolu in a marriage proposal tone, "I want you to skip a grade and get into a high school in H City. Are you willing to consider it?"
In front of Xin Xiaolu was a watermelon cut into small pieces, which could be eaten with a toothpick. Although it somewhat ruined the solemn atmosphere, the watermelon she bought this afternoon was really sweet and delicious, and it was a great way to cool down in the hot evening. She propped up her chin, and because she had a watermelon in her mouth, she didn't speak, but nodded.
Xin Yanlai relaxed a little and began to explain to her one by one, "I went to H City after I went back this time. There is a very good high school not far from the university campus I want to attend. I think with your grades, it should be no problem for you to skip a grade and enter that high school. If you are willing to go, I will rent a house nearby and apply for you to live out. I will hire an aunt to take care of your life... The only question is... are you willing to leave home now?"
Xin Yanlai is actually very clear about this problem. Xin Xiaolu's relationship with her mother is worse than strangers, and her relationship with Mr. Xin is even more distant. She and Xin Yuan also don't get along. His ignorant cousin often makes trouble for her and never changes his ways. Xin Xiaolu should not be reluctant to leave them, but the school, although she doesn't have good friends, is a familiar environment after all, and she may feel more relaxed staying in the original school.
If it wasn't about the Situ family, he wouldn't force her like this, but this time when he went back, he heard that Situ Zhuo had come back from recuperation and told many people that he wanted to teach Xiaolu a lesson. How could Xin Yanlai be at ease letting her stay in the school with Situ Zhuo? He was really worried that if he couldn't see her for a while, no one in the Xin family would care about Xiaolu and no one would take care of her.
Apart from that, he had a little selfish thought. He didn't want to be separated from the girl he secretly loved for so long and so far. He secretly hoped to see her every day and take care of her.
Compared to Xin Yan who thought so much, Xin Xiaolu was much simpler and more straightforward. She waited for Xin Yan to finish and then nodded, "Okay."
For her, it doesn't matter where she goes, it just depends on whether she is happy with it or not.
Because of Xin Xiaolu's nod, her study time doubled in the next summer vacation. Brother Xin Yanlai dutifully acted as her tutor, and made up for any subject she was not good at. Even a ghost girl like Xin Xiaolu, who had been in school for many years, was afraid of him. Who would suddenly ask math formulas while playing at the beach? Who would suddenly start memorizing English words while riding a bicycle
"To give you a deeper impression." Her younger brother explained in a serious tone.
Thanks to him, Xin Xiaolu fell asleep more often at night, because he found a lot of phonetics teaching materials for third grade of junior high school and first grade of high school, which were simply hypnotic tools. Xin Xiaolu felt sleepy as soon as he listened to them.
Xin Yanlai was very pleased that he had accidentally discovered a little trick to treat Xin Xiaolu's sleep problems, and he now had more of these boring audio teaching materials stored in his mobile phone.
During the summer vacation, students in the town came back. Many of them drove around and played pop songs loudly in their cars. Only Xin Yanlai was different. When he took Xin Xiaolu out to play, the music he played was always English listening.
Xin Xiaolu felt that his brother had no other shortcomings except that he loved studying too much.
Summer vacation passed quickly, and they had to go back to school. Before leaving, Xin Xiaolu put the fish she had raised for two months back into the sea, and returned with the empty fish tank. She liked it here, and Xin Yan could see it. When they sat on the terrace and watched the sea as usual in the evening, he comforted her: "Can we come here again next summer vacation? I like it here too. Grandpa is getting older, and he will be very happy if we come here to accompany him during the summer vacation."
"Next time, I'll raise a few more fish."
They took a car and a plane and went through a lot of trouble. As soon as they got back to Xin Xiaolu, they heard the long-lost Xin Yuan throwing a tantrum. He was still the same old thing, complaining that his cousin was not good to him and was nice to the burden brought by the woman outside. Yes, he was still like this, looking for a fight when he disagreed with something, and he would never learn to speak properly.
There are exquisite and luxurious courtyards and buildings, convenient modern facilities, a bustling city center and shopping mall, and delicious and rich food. However, on the first day back, Xin Xiaolu began to miss the room where he could hear the waves.
As Xin Xiaolu was thinking this, she received a call from Xin Yan. He asked her on the other end of the phone, as if he had expected it, "Are you not used to it?"
"Yeah, I can't sleep. I can't sleep even when listening to English comprehension."
Xin Yanlai seemed to be flipping through a book on the other end of the phone. After a while, he said, "Then I'll read to you."
Xin Xiaolu thought he was going to continue to teach her English listening or Chinese poetry, but this time he was not reading those, but a collection of poems, and he also played the background music of the waves beside him. Listening to his voice and the sound of the waves, Xin Xiaolu felt as if they were still on the terrace by the sea. Although she was not coaxed to sleep, she felt much happier.
I don't know how Xin Yanlai convinced Mr. Xin and Ms. He. They didn't stop Xin Xiaolu from going to high school in H City, but they didn't seem to be very supportive either. Xin Yanlai showed everyone in the Xin family his stubbornness and determination. He was determined to do what he wanted, and no one could stop him. Even Mr. Xin had no choice but to acquiesce.
A few days before school started, Xin Yanlai took Xin Xiaolu to City H and moved into the house he rented.
The next day after settling down, Xin Yanlai took Xin Xiaolu to visit the school. The school they visited was not his university, but the high school that Xin Xiaolu was going to.
"This high school is one of the oldest in the city. Although the school district is a bit old, the faculty is very good, with many great teachers." Xin Yanlai introduced Xin Xiaolu, pointing to a teaching building, "If you enroll this year, you should have classes in the new teaching building over there. There are dormitories in the school, but I'm worried about you living alone in the school dormitory, so you'd better go to school as a day student. Our place is also close to your school, and it only takes about ten minutes to walk. If you don't want to walk, I'll buy you a bicycle."
Xin Xiaolu didn't listen to him. From the moment he saw the gate of the school, Xin Xiaolu's expression looked a little strange.
When Xin Yanlai was about to take her to the teaching building, he saw her running quickly from the other side.
"Xiaolu? Where are you going?" Xin Yanlai didn't know what was wrong with her, so he could only follow her. He saw her walk through a forest, come to the middle of the dormitory and the laboratory building, and enter a toilet there.
Of course Xin Yanlai would not follow him in. He stood outside and waited, but he felt a little strange about Xin Xiaolu's behavior. She seemed to be very familiar with this school she had never been to before? If she wanted to go to the toilet, why didn't she go to the complex building she just passed by, but came to such a remote place? Why did she know there was a toilet here
Separated by a wall, Xin Xiaolu stood in this extremely familiar place with a strange smile on his face.
It looks so familiar, isn't this the place where she died
The author has something to say: Question: Is this really the place where Xiaolu died